Tale of Two Friends: Kotestu and Izumo
by Blazing Kusanagi
Summary: The pasts of Kotetsu and Izumo, two ninjas of the Hidden Leaf... Their past experiences as they graduated from the academy to the Chuunin Exam.
1. Chapter 1

(Disclaimer: Naruto is not one of my possessions)

Prologue: The Academy

The academy…it was no different that it is now… Fourteen years ago…this tale of two friends begins.

A yellow flash materialized in front of the building. It was the Yondaime himself…

The Fourth approached the academy teacher and said, " I would like to see how the current academy students are faring…in their studies. As Hokage, I should understand who my future ninjas are and what their skills are."

The teacher laughed, "Liar, you are merely doing this to slack off from work are you not? But I cannot refuse, since the information will be quite beneficial."

He took out some folders and began reading the names of the students…Mizuki…Iruka…Mitate…Anko…Iashi…Hayate…

"Kotetsu of the Hagane Clan? He's quite an arrogant loudmouth, a troublemaker, and a slacker. He's quite impulsive as well. He is mediocre at ninjutsu, but weapon techniques (bukijutsu) seem to be his forte. He carries two large knives on his back that are quite effective in battle. He's strong and fast, making him skilled at taijutsu as well, and his genjutsu skills aren't too shabby either. He has great potential as a warrior."

"Izumo the Kamizuki? He's rather untalkative, placid, but by no means antisocial. Izumo is a prodigy. He is adept at ninjutsu, being capable of potent water and fire elemental techniques at such as young age. He is an average runner and middling when it comes to strength, but he thinks before making a move in battles. His genjutsu skills are also quite good. He is the best friend of Kotetsu, thought these two seem to be opposites in every way."

The tale of Kotestu and Izumo…the two closest friend's experiences together…from graduating to the Chunin Exam begins…


	2. The First Day

Ch. 1: The First Day

"Wake up, Kotetsu!" yelled a voice from downstairs.

The young Kotetsu groaned and rubbed his eyes as he slowly rose from his bed, "Damn…I was having such a nice nap too… Stupid loudmouthed…moth–"

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!" yelled Mrs. Hagane.

"Er… nothing, mom," Kotetsu uneasily said.

Kotetsu irascibly cursed under his breath…

"Well, get up! You're going to be late for your first day of the academy! You want to learn all these new ninjutsu techniques, don't you?"

'Ninjutsu' thought Kotetsu, 'who gives a damn about ninjutsu… I know that ninjutsu is breathing fire, extending shadows, and manipulating insects…but I'm a ninja, not a magician! When I fight my enemies, I want to slash them with katanas, kunai, and shuriken…not spells that waste energy…'

Kotetsu put his unkempt hair out of his eyes and brushed his teeth. After changing, he strapped two giant kunai knives, two of his greatest treasures, on his back. He thought they made him look "cool" and "tough", when in fact he had to use both of his hands to barely carry one of them… He walked downstairs too see his father, Hagane Daitetsu, sipping on some coffee. He looked just like an older aspect of Kotetsu, with the same disheveled hair and white markings on his cheeks and chin that resembled bandages. Wordlessly, Kotetsu sat down next to him and began devouring the pancakes his mother made for him…

"So this is your first day of school, huh?" said Daitetsu, "You remind me when I was young… Ah, how I aspired to be the great ninja I am now…"

"Now, you should aspire on being a better husband," scoffed Mrs. Hagane.

Daitetsu blushed and his son smirked.

Quickly changing the subject, Daitetsu said, "Oh, look at the time, we must go now…"

Right before he left, Kotetsu examined his living room. Although he had done this several hundred times already, he felt the obligation to do it one more time. He looked at all the weapons of the Hagane clan neatly stacked…broadswords, lances, axes, knives, whips, crossbows, staffs, halberds…one day he aimed to be a weapon master like his father who would be strong enough to use them in battle. One weapon that he was especially fond of was a giant conch shaped mace…

"Come on, or I'm leaving without you," hollered his father from outside.

"Coming…," said Kotetsu as he hurriedly followed his father

Meanwhile…

In contrast to the indolent Kotetsu, Izumo had woken up by himself and was already getting ready for school. It was in the morning, yet the room was still quite dark. He tried to turn on the light…but…

"Damn…it's broken," muttered Izumo, "Mom should take better care of our household appliances… I guess I'll have to improvise…"

Izumo took out a candle, and after forming handseals, he exhaled a very small flame into the wick…

"There…that's better," Izumo sighed with relief.

Izumo slowly walked into the restroom… After brushing his teeth, he found out that the sink was broken too…

"What the hell is going on?" muttered Izumo irritably…

He once again formed handseals, and breathed out a small amount of water into his cup and began rinsing his mouth. He did not mind washing his mouth with what came out of his gullet, due to the fact that it was water formed by chakra energy, not saliva.

Izumo walked downstairs and began eating a sandwich. His mother and father joined him on the breakfast table not long after. In terms of appearance, Izumo resembled his father, with the same lock of hair that covered one of his eyes and both wore a bandanna. The only difference was that Izumo's was plain, and his father's was a forehead protector.

His father, Kamizuki Yazumo, said, "Sorry the lights weren't working… There was a "slight" problem…"

"Slight?" asked Izumo sarcastically.

"Don't worry, I'll get it to work…," said his father.

"The sink wasn't working either…," said Izumo.

"Jeez…What in the world going on?" asked his mother.

"I told you, I'll get it to work…," said Yazumo calmly, "Well, anyway…my son, Izumo, one day you will be a ninja who honors the Kamizuki clan. Do not forget…the Kamizuki trait is fire and water. The Kamizuki must always hold a strong balance between these two elements…do not forget that… You will remember, will you not?"

Izumo remained silent… No one, not even he knew the answer.

"At any rate, you better take him to the academy," said Mrs. Kamizuki.

At the academy…

Izumo had a calm expression on, but deep down he was slightly nervous.

"Heeey, Yazumo!" hollered a booming voice.

Izumo turned around to see the Hagane father and son.

"My, my…so this is the Kotetsu you're always talking about…" said Yazumo, "say hello to my old friend Hagane Daitetsu…"

"H-Hello…," said Izumo shyly…

"Hi! I'm Kotetsu," said the young boy, "Let's be friends.

"Yes, let's," said Izumo.

Starting that day, the two formed a peerless friendship that rivaled no other…

These two friends soon graduated and became Genin


End file.
